"Rocky Raccoon" is a 1968 folk rock song by The Beatles from the double-disc album The Beatles (also known as The White Album). The song was primarily written by Paul McCartney, who was inspired while playing guitar for John Lennon and Donovan Leitch in India (where the Beatles had gone on a retreat).
The song, titled from the character's name, was originally "Rocky Sassoon", but McCartney changed it to Rocky Raccoon because he thought "it sounded more like a cowboy." The song is about a man (Rocky) who tries to shoot the man who stole his lover, but is wounded by the rival instead. The Old West-style honky-tonk piano was played by producer George Martin. It is speculated that it is a parody of Bob Dylan's ballad-filled album John Wesley Harding (the raspy enunciation in the intro, the harmonica playing and the faux-moralism). The Beatles were a pop and rock group from Liverpool; England formed.
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